The Raven: Volume 1
by Stellar Magic
Summary: For a woman that's been reborn and the daughter of a dimensional conqueror, what happens when the world resets? Rachel Roth wakes in on in an alley in Central City to a world changed from her own, and finds herself alone facing minions and agents of her father. She finds one friend in this strange new world: Wally West. BBxRae referenced. Rated T for violence and language.
1. Issue 1 - Another Life

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans, Raven, and the DC Universe are the intellectual properties of DC Comics and Cartoon Network.  
_

_Reminder: All my stories are on a monthly update schedule, please see my profile for the the schedule._

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**The Raven #1: **Another Life

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I remember…

"Take her!" Deathstroke's familiar voice shouted from behind me as I ran. I could hear the clatter of heavy boots against the stonework as I ran. The silent pursuit of his two minions unnerved me more than anything.

They had never been the sort to be quiet in a fight before.

I spun around and saw the three of them, my opponents standing at the end of the alleyway. Deathstroke stood behind his two minions, a sword laid jauntily against his shoulder as he stared at me with that one eye of his behind the mask.

A familiar boy crouched before him. A red tail curling up over his back like a monkey's and his bare gangly body was a hard knot of muscle. I recognized him, despite the red skin and hideous lack of clothes, I knew him instantly and felt my heart clench in my chest.

"Garfield…" I whispered under my breath. I knew him. I remembered him… and I felt my blood run cold.

I think that's what separates me from the rest more than anything. I know they've heard of me… my existence isn't exactly easy to hide.

The two minions charged forward and I grabbed hold of a dumpster with my powers. I flung it toward the pair and snarled.

The blond girl hurled herself out of the path of the dumpster as Garfield leapt screeching over it. He dropped into a crouch when he landed. Deathstroke stepped back and cocked his head as if amused when my dumpster smashed into the wall on the opposite side of the street.

The girl ripped a block of stone from the alley floor and hurled it toward me with a gesture. Then I knew who she was… Terra.

The rock smacked into the shield of dark energy I conjured with an outstretched hand and I felt anger seize control. I snatched the massive dumpster from the opposite wall and lifted it into the air and pointed to the blonde girl.

The geomancer stared up at the dumpster, her eyes wide when a massive red rhino appeared between them and took the blow. I felt tears in my eyes as I saw the mass of metal roll off his body and shut my eyes.

"Garfield… I'm so sorry."

My name is Rachel Roth… Raven. Perhaps it would be better to say I am The Raven. Through the countless universes and timelines there is only one me. I guess that's just one of the side effects of being the daughter of an inter-dimensional-being that transcends the bounds of the universes.

A feral roar echoed in the alleyway and I stared at the massive hulking red Allosaur that now was framed in the alleyway. Its tail swung ominously and I could see from the familiar twitching in the creature's calves that he was on the verge of charging toward me. Then he charged with a roar.

I lifted my hand and remembered that power Malchior taught me so many lifetimes ago… the massive red form was struck with a bolt of dark energy and Beast Boy's body stretched and warped before reverting to a human boy that tumbled out of the air and landed on the ground between Deathstroke and me with a thud.

"Impressive." Deathstroke said before stepping past his two minions with the sword in hand. Then he charged forward, his sword flashing in the dim light.

I stumbled back and gasped as the blade ripped through the air just above my head. I ducked as a second slice cut toward my throat and felt fear roll through my body. Control, I needed control… Azar, I didn't need to lose it against Slade.

"You're holding back." He taunted and I felt my control snap.

I reached for the wall with my powers and tore the bricks free. The debris charged toward Deathstroke and I saw his eye widen before he leapt back from the whirlwind of bricks and mortar I had conjured.

He's always is so damn fast.

I've lived a hundred lives, died a hundred deaths, had friends and lost friends, had victories and defeats… so many defeats. Sometimes I remember my former lives, sometimes I don't.

Deathstroke stared at the whirlwind of bricks and squinted at me. "No wonder our employer is so interested in you."

This time… this time I remember… I remember it all!

My mind flashed back to happier times, happier lives… I see myself standing with four loyal friends, Dick and Kory, Garfield and Victor. I see my enemies fall and Trigon, my father, dispatched again and again…

As I stood there I in the dark trying to plan my next move, I remembered. The struggles and fights within a half dozen different timelines… And when I worried about my next plan to slam the door in the face of my father, I remember… I remembered all the help my friends offered, the comfort and warmth.

I miss my friends… I remember, Azar, I remember.

I saw Terra and Beast Boy stalk forward, a huge paving stone handing in the Geomancer's grip. Beast Boy snarled and turned into the massive form of a Gorgonopsid, his tusk like fangs dripping with saliva.

But they don't… The don't remember. Because, for them… it never happened.

I floated against the wall and felt my hands being enveloped in dark energy. Anger flared across my features as I stared down at the trio that faced me, and my heart felt like an icy lump. Tears came.

"Azarath… metrion… zinthos!" I shouted and the world went black around me. This time… I'll have to do it all alone.

It started three months ago, in Central City.

I woke on the side of the street clad in a simple hoodie and rather ragged black jeans. Not the nicest of ways to be awoken from a monumental shift in the universe, but I suppose I can't afford to be picky.

It's always like this. Azar dumps me upon a world to let my journey begin anew, my struggle, my torment. The mortal minds around me are always filled with screeching thoughts and unpleasant emotions. It always feels as if I need to relearn everything about separating my feelings and thoughts from those around me… Still it's always the same, but it's always a little different.

I groaned and pushed myself to my knees and looked around. Central City has rather unique architecture and it only took a moment or two of me to recognize it. My side hurt and my stomach was empty. "Azar…" I muttered as I pulled myself upright.

I always wonder if the Azar or whoever it is that is higher than her has a sense of humor. I mean, how many magical shops do you think exist in your average mortal realm? A handful in a metropolis perhaps… Jump City had… one.

I had woken up across from a shop called "Vela's Rare Tomes and Scrolls" which basically means… it was one of those places, filled with ancient dusty tomes and scrolls loaded with spells and incantations, treatises and other bits of occult work…

And a woman with a rather boring brown and grey dress was running out the door of the shop with her hands clutched around one of those thick heavy books. Red flames burst from the shop window and another woman stepped through the shattered glass.

She was tall, taller than me, and lanky… Her cloak and hood was a blood red and I could see gold embroidering along the edges. Her hood was angular and pointed much like one I would have chosen.

Then she lashed out with a hand and a blast of flames skewered the shopkeeper in the back of the head. She fell forward and the tome slipped from her lifeless hands and bounced across the ground.

I could see familiar fiery runes along the woman's arms as she slowly lowered it. A set of flaming wings sprouted from her back as she bent down toward the book. "Finally, the key to my lord's ascension!"

I didn't expect it… I couldn't have. None of my other rebirths had placed me in conflict with another like myself. Still, this woman had just murdered for a book, magic tome though it may have been. I reached out with a hand and snatched the white leather bound tome with my dark energy and drew it to my arms.

It fell into my arms and a glance was all I needed. The Azarathian runes and symbols seemed to be glaring up at me. It was the book of Azar, the guarded tome by which I had first learned to channel my powers and a sacred text to those from Azarath. In short, it was my bible.

The demonic woman glared at me and scowled. I could see a blood red glow in her eyes and swallowed a lump in my throat.

"In the name of Avnas, give me that book!" She snapped and held out her hand.

I held the book to my chest and reached out with one hand toward her. Black energy crackled from my fingertips.

"Azarath, metrion, zinthos!" I cried and dark energy engulfed the woman. Her red runes pulsed and her fiery wings strained against the band of darkness that wrapped around her midsection.

I wish it was that easy, but it never seems to be.

The black band pulsed and writhed for a moment before it exploded outward and flames arced high into the air. I ducked back and held a hand in front of my face to shield myself from the blast.

The woman scowled at me, her red glowing eyes burning with demonic fury. "Azarathian, I hope that is not the best you can do!"

"It wasn't." I answered in an almost bored tone. The black magic and shadow magic I had gained from my ancestry is weak against other demons. But it isn't the only magic I know and wield.

Magic is ninety-percent intent… emotions drive intent that is why I must be careful of my emotions, the magic I gained from my father is tied to the baser emotions, hate, anger, fear, and lust… The magic I wielded to defeat him was based upon a different set of emotions… a set I did not realize I held until I wielded them for the first time.

Friendship, love, happiness, contentment, and all those things scholars and philosophers call "good" power my other magic, my white magic.

I held out a hand and smirked. "Yahuah tenar Azarath!"

A blast of brilliant white magic shot from my hand and slammed into the woman tossing her against the storefront. Her demonic wings sputtered and died as the glow in her eyes flickered. She dropped to the ground panting for breath and the glowing red runes along her arms disappeared.

She stood and glared at me. "No… I am Phoenix! I will not be beaten by a mere mortal!"

The silhouette of a red bird sheathed in flames burst from her body and charged. I swallowed again as my darker emotions raged at the challenge of this… Phoenix's soul self.

"Okay, now I'm impressed." I muttered before calling upon my own inner nature. My dark half roared from my body and spread its wings resolving into a massive black four eyed raven that charged her phoenix.

The shadow raven shrieked before catching the phoenix in its beak and slamming it against the pavement. With a boom the red phoenix disappeared.

Phoenix stared up at me with shock, her red eyes widening in terror. "Who are you?"

I glared down at her as the raven returned to my body and I slowly floated into the air. My eyes glowed white as I spoke. "I am Raven, daughter of Trigon, and a knight of Azarath. Surrender."

"Never!" Phoenix yelled and shrieked as brilliant red flames engulfed her and blasted toward me. They sputtered futilely against a shield I raised as soon as she turned toward me. Soon the fire died, leaving behind nothing but embers.

I slowly dropped to the ground and stared at the scorch on the pavement. "Idiot."

I hugged the book to my chest and closed my eyes. Well, that was interesting. How could a book of Azar be of use to Avnas?

A distant siren drew my attention and I took a deep breath before glancing back at the scorch mark on the pavement and then the shopkeeper's remains. I knew. I better leave before the police showed up.

I knew Avnas, sometimes known as Amy, or the Arsonist, was a demon of Trigon's domain… though of far lesser importance than Trigon himself. Before Trigon had always tried to send avatars of himself or his children out for his bid for freedom, so was Avnas acting in support of Trigon or for reasons of his own?

I still don't know the answer.

If you've ever been there, you should know that Central City is awash with modern buildings, aside for a small slice of the inner city. Most everything has this… cleanliness to it. Plus the rather distinctive architecture made it pretty easy to identify where I'd ended up. It's a classic example of urban sprawl with 750,000 people spread out over close to 200 square miles, which made it around fifteen miles from one side to the other.

It's no wonder only a hero like the Flash could really operate here, outside of downtown the distances become just to vast for someone that isn't a speedster to get around.

I wandered down one of the streets in a bit of a daze. There is a problem with being reincarnated and dropped out of thin air in the middle of an alley. Every universe I've been in has this little thing called money and… I never have any.

My stomach grumbled with hunger when I glanced inside a McDonalds. The lack of money is always one of the most irritating things that come with being dumped here. I need to eat.

Scratch that, I needed to drink something… and public water fountains are not exactly something you find on street corners. I could live on the street, it's not fun or pleasant but I know how to, still… it was a good idea to check up on some old friends.

I wandered around downtown for about an hour, glancing at the storefronts as I passed. Finally, I found a cybercafé. A ten-speed bicycle sat out beside the stairs, and I caught a hint of a burnt rubber smell as I passed.

I should have known something was up at that point, but as I stepped inside and glanced around I really didn't pay that much attention to the pizza delivery boy arguing with the store clerk.

Still, that didn't mean I didn't catch most of their conversation as I walked to one of the computers and sat down.

"I ain't paying you…" The clerk said as I opened up the browser and started typing. "You said thirty minutes or less, and it's been thirty-one minutes."

"Aww man…" the pizza boy groused as I typed in the first couple searches. "I should have known the new line guy was to slow."

"Line guy?"

"Yeah… he's the guy that makes the pizza," the pizza boy said. He cursed under his breath and jerked back when the clerk scowled at him. "Sorry… It's just been months since I was late on a delivery."

"I still ain't paying," the clerk snapped.

I turned to scowl at the two of them and froze. He looked familiar… but I don't remember much about pizza delivery boys in Central City. He had wild red hair that stuck out from under the baseball-cap he wore and I could see a couple of freckles on his cheeks as he set the pizza on the table. I turned back to the screen and sighed.

Knowing the real identities of heroes is something of a boon when looking for them. A few quick searches later and I found that Garfield Logan had disappeared, just dropped off the grid… Dick Grayson seemed to be alive and Nightwing… Starfire disappeared a few months ago. There were a couple of news reports of sightings but not much. Victor Stone… was part of the Justice League.

It was strange, a departure from what I expected and that made it… Fascinating. Until I looked up another name that I'd run across on occasion: Kid Flash.

The result made my eyes go wide, it wasn't who I expected. The kid had a different uniform, and a different look. Apparently, he had gone by another name before becoming the current Kid Flash.

But where was Wally West? I mean the current Kid Flash didn't look anything like him, and Flash was apparently Barry Allan still. Name change, what? I kept typing and stared after a moment… Huh, there's a facebook page…

My mind went blank and I felt my jaw drop open. Staring back at me was the pizza boy. "No way…"

I bolted from the chair and ran for the door. The kid was by the bike already, his delivery bag swung over a shoulder and an irritated expression playing across his face.

"Wally?"

The pizza boy looked up at me in surprise and I saw him arch an eyebrow at me. His brown eyes seemed to scan over me curiously. Then he bit his lip. "Umm… you know me somehow?"

I must have been unimaginably desperate to ask for help at that moment, but I didn't exactly have a bus fare in my pocket… or lunch money.

"I… I saw your facebook page," I stammered quickly. "I need your help."

"Well… I got another three deliveries to make." He gestured to the three other boxes he had tied to the back of the bicycle.

"How long will that take?" I asked.

"Oh ten minutes, my shift ends in an hour," Wally said with a shrug.

I bit my lip and glanced at the bike. If he really was Wally West then three deliveries wouldn't take him long at all. If he was a Flash they could be on the other side of the town and he'd be there in a moment. But was he a Flash?

"Would you be willing to come back in an hour?"

"Sure… I don't have anything better to do." Wally clambered atop the bicycle and set off. As he turned around the corner, I heard a squeal of tire noise and a column of blue smoke rose from where he disappeared.

I decided to update myself on current events during the hour that passed. I learned a lot of things that chilled my stomach when I thought about them. Already, Darkseid was on the move… Azar, was this truly everything that'd happened? No Titans? I… I supposed that since I hadn't been around trying to make the team to fight Trigon, it wouldn't have existed.

As I surfed the web researching and trying to wrap my mind around this world I found myself in, I tapped the book of Azar which I had set beside the computer I'd chosen. The door jangled as Wally stepped inside.

"Has it been an hour already?" I asked before pushing away from the computer and pulling my hood up.

Wally walked over to the desk and leaned against it. "So… this is an awkward way to start a conversation." I glanced up at him and arched an eyebrow. "Who are you and why are you asking for my help?"

"Because I need it," I said flatly. "Believe it or not, I know you…"

"Beyond facebook." Wally stated.

"Yes."

Wally stared at me looking confused. I'd seen that look on his face before. It felt almost nostalgic for me. "Really… how would you know me?"

"I'm… a trans-dimensional being, we've met before… on a different timeline, different world." I said chewing my lip as I spoke.

Wally's eyebrows disappeared under his hair. "Right… And you think that since it's me, I'd help you since there's always a little effect from other universes in the multiverse, right? That's multiverse theory 101. I had that two years ago." He folded his arms over his chest and glared at me. "But it doesn't prove anything, does it? Fine, tell me something that'd prove you know me."  
"Assuming the universes are similar enough…" I sighed. "I'm sorry. Sciences are not my forte… I'm more into the mystic and magical arts."

"Magic? Please…" Wally snorted derisively, "It's nothing but technology… as Asimov said, 'Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' I don't believe in that stuff."

My lips curled into a tight smile as I looked up at him. "It's definitely you. I'll go out on a limb and guess that if I told you I was a half-demon trying to stop my father from taking over the multiverse you'd laugh at me."

Wally pushed off from the desk and took a step toward the door. "You've got to be kidding me… I'm leaving." His gate sped up as he passed me and I scowled. This wasn't going well.

I took a deep breath. "Dick Grayson is… or at least was your best friend, Batman's original Robin, and currently operates under the name Nightwing."

Wally froze and slowly turned toward me, his jaw slack with shock. I felt a cool smile spread across my lips.

"Your uncle is Barry Allen, the current Flash. You're researching your abilities in secret I'm guessing, hiding it behind your science courses…" I added and saw a cold sweat began to run down from Wally's temple.

He stomped forward and seemed to be resisting the impulse to grab me by the neck and shake me. "Who are you? How do you know that?"

I looked up at him and swallowed. "My name is Rachel Roth, I'm the daughter of Trigon the Terrible and Angela Roth formerly of Gotham… I do not know if she even exists in this reality. I'm an empath and magic user."

"Still don't believe the magic stuff." Wally snorted.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why aren't you Kid Flash? I saw a kid that looked like Impulse online with that title."

"Umm… I'm twenty, kind of old for the KF title, right? Anyway… Barry insists I get a degree of some sort before donning a new identity. It's a pain." Wally sighed.

I shook my head, the lack of Titans at work again I figured. "Oh… and since there isn't a youth hero group besides the one Red Robin just formed, you have nowhere to go in case you want to rebel?"

"Something like that, you hungry?"

I felt my stomach tighten at the thought of food and picked up the book of Azar. "Yes… that's one of the things I need help with, and I know you are." Wally's stomach growled loudly at that moment and I smirked. "Nice. Fast metabolism, right?"

"Uh… yeah, I guess you really do know me." Wally looked sheepish and thrust his hands in his pockets. "Listen there's a café that's great in town called Old Stevenson's. We can go there. You can ride behind me."

"No thanks… I'll just meet you there." I said and he stared at me in confusion before I opened a portal to the café in my mind. As I left I heard one last quip from Wally.

"Okay… starting to reassess the magic thing."

When the portal opened and I stepped out into the street I froze and felt a chill run down my back. I could sense another magical presence in the city, a familiar one.

One I'd had a rather rocky relationship with over the time-streams. I took a deep breath as I waited by the door. I wondered how long I had before he showed.

Wally skidded to a stop in front of the doors of the café and stared at me. "How is it everyone beats me to places?"

"Portals are faster than pure speed." I reasoned quietly. "Now…" I gave him the most pitiful expression I could, trying to remember the tricks that Garfield always had for getting me to give into him. "Feed me?"

Wally just stared at me for a moment before snorting. "You really aren't good at this stuff are you?"

"I'm trying…" I stated. "I don't do feelings."

"Okay… after you." Wally said as he held the door open and I took a deep breath before stepping inside.

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_Continued in… The Raven #2: The Demon Hunter_


	2. Issue 2 - The Demon Hunter

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans, Raven, and the DC Universe are the intellectual properties of DC Comics and Cartoon Network.  
_

_Reminder: All my stories are on a monthly update schedule, please see my profile for the the schedule._

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**The Raven #2: **The Demon Hunter

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There was one thing I forgot, and it was something really important when you're sitting across from Wally West in a booth at a cafe. Wally is a disgusting person to watch eat.

He'd scarf down everything, as if he was in a total rush. If that wasn't enough, the sheer volume of food he ate was more than most people could comprehend. He'd ordered three full breakfasts worth of food for lunch and ate them with such speed that by the time I was half-way done with my meal he was on the verge of finishing his.

Another thing is there is some truth to the rumors going around about me.

I do love waffles, so I guess none of you would be surprised if I said I'd ordered Belgian waffles for my first real meal on this world...

"So..." Wally said after he finished slurping up a glass of orange juice. "You know my little secret, Dick's little secret, and probably a lot more than that."

I nodded after daintily taking a bite of my waffles and chewed. I thought about where this could be leading but wasn't sure what angle Wally was going to go with. He was Wally West after all.

"Umm... so, if you knew me from another dimension was it the future or the past or..." Wally started.

"Both, this reality seems to have had some sort of time compression... events are happening faster than in previous timelines," I said.

"So... umm, do you know stuff like who's going to get together and all that?" Wally asked.

I choked and stared at him for a moment before hammering my chest and coughing. "You... you want to know that?"

"Yeah, doesn't everybody?" Wally asked with a smirk.

I coughed again and took a deep breath. "I... I do but... events are already heading different directions then my previous experiences. Nothing I say could be guaranteed to come to pass."

"Come on... you never know, some things just might be destined you know?" Wally asked.

"Fine... Wally," I groused as he suddenly hooted.

"Alright, so what about me?"

I groaned and rubbed my temple. "You never really settle down Wally... it's just not your nature, you know."

"Aww... damn, surely there's somebody!" Wally snapped.

I shook my head. "You had a couple long time girlfriends but nothing permanent."

"Damn," Wally said. "What about Dick..."

"I..." I scowled. "I don't know... in one time line he's single in another he's married with a kid."

"Really?" Wally brightened. "Married to who?"

"Starfire," I grumbled. "In the timeline that he was single, it was mostly my interference that ended their relationship... I really regret that."

"That sucks." Wally muttered. "What about yourself?"

"I..." I glanced at the tabletop and sighed. "I... I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh... sorry, I guess you miss him," Wally said.

I nodded. "Yes... I do, but there's nothing I can do about it. Even if he's around in this time line, he won't remember me." I felt a tear run down my cheek and quickly wiped it away. I heard a glass shatter on a table nearby and took a deep breath. My emotions were getting out of control.

"Are you okay?" Wally suddenly asked.

"Yes, yes... I'll be fine," I said. "My emotions just got away from me for a moment."

"I wasn't thinking... I'm sorry." Wally said quietly. "What'd Dick name his kid?"

"Mar'i... after his mother I think," I said quietly and sighed. "Please, could we talk about something else... current events or something?"

"All right... umm... what do you think of the whole thing with Darkseid?" Wally asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. "As dangerous as Darkseid is, he's not the greatest threat to the planet... Trigon is. Darkseid is a self-proclaimed god of tyranny and wants to conquer the universe... or the multiverse if he's aware of it, but he's a local threat to each universe. Trigon and his minions are a multiverse level threat. I am a bit concerned he's moving this early, but he can be beaten... I've seen it done more than once. I just wish that the Justice League was willing to make it a permanent defeat."

Wally stared at me looking stunned. "You mean... kill him?"

"Yes... so long as he is allowed to escape or survive he will rebuild his forces and try again. Ending him once and for all would save so many lives in the long run that refusing to seems... criminal."

"That's a rather cold blooded and logical analysis," Wally said flatly.

"I know. I told you, I don't do feelings."

Wally nodded. "I can see your point though."

"Not everyone is capable of killing," I said quietly.

Wally tapped the table and bit his lip. "So... what about the Justice League?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. "The Justice League... I suppose they might not be that bad this time... Victor has always been rather pragmatic. Still... they usually refuse to help me because of my ancestry."

"Really?" Wally asked.

I nodded. "Being half-demon makes me untrustworthy."

"So you don't like the Justice League?" Wally muttered. "I mean they're the seven best heroes on the planet."

I snorted, I just couldn't help myself. It sounded so ridiculous to my ears.

"What?" Wally asked.

"You'd place the entire world's fate in the hands of seven self-appointed protectors? Let's take a moment and list them, shall we?" I began ticking off the seven on my fingers. "Batman... who isn't really powerful, I mean, he's smart and exceptionally paranoid but he's not powerful, Green Lantern... who is basically a glorified space cop. Superman... who is a Kryptonian man that has people issues, Wonder Woman... an Amazonian exile and demigod, Flash... who is an actual cop in his second life and smart like Batman, Cyborg... an ace athlete and genius who happens to have military grade prosthetics, and Aquaman."

"Okay... when you put it that way..." Wally muttered.

"Did I mention Batman has contingency plans in case any member of the League turns against human interests?" I snorted again. "Wally, they need to organize... just being seven heroes with a satellite does not protect the Earth. How many hundreds of heroes do you think are wandering around the globe?"

"Well... there are those affiliated teams," Wally said.

"Which really aren't that affiliated except for their name," I said before rolling my eyes. "Batman probably is backing Red Robin's Titans and thinking about organizing some other teams. He's smart enough to know that the Justice League of America isn't enough to stop Darkseid for good."

"Okay, so... what would be the ideal situation?" Wally asked.

I furrowed my brow under my hood and bit my lip. "The greatest way to encourage improvement is to introduce a competitor. In one of my lives the sidekicks and youth heroes of Earth organized into a separate network called the Titan Network. If something like that existed here, a network that competes with and challenges the Justice League as the heroic body of the globe, then we'd be much more prepared for anything the universe could hurl at us."

"Good luck," Wally muttered.

I snorted. "I know... the whole universe would have to be reset for that to happen here..." I froze as the door to the cafe closed with a clatter and a man clad in a trench coat stepped toward the counter. I could see a pendulum dangling from his pocket and swore under my breath. "Wally."

"What?"

"We've got company." I edged toward the end of the booth. "Maybe we should go..."

"Uh... okay." Wally looked confused before seeing the trench coat clad man and arched an eyebrow. "What, you think it's a burglary?"

"No... No it's not." I said.

The trench coat clad man turned and glared at me. In that moment, I froze as he stepped up to the side of the table and stared at me. "Going somewhere?"

"Constantine." I murmured under my breath as he stared down at me with that look... I don't mind the bat-glare that Dick hands out, but there's just something about Constantine's stare that gets under my skin. Fear flooded my mind and my empty coffee cup exploded with uncontrolled magic.

"I see my reputation has preceded me..." He grabbed a chair, spun it around, and sat in it, facing Wally and me.

"Anyone that deals in the occult should know it's greatest detective," I growled.

Constantine arched an eyebrow in my direction and pulled a cigarette from a pocket. He lit it with a flourish. "I know a few tricks, but I'm not the greatest magician around."

"I didn't say magician, I said detective." I said before pushing myself to the far side of the booth and stared at him from against the wall. "Perhaps you prefer the term 'Demon Hunter.'"

"I so rarely deal with them these days. True demons so rarely come out... no matter what the Justice League call the followers of Darkseid. They're not demons. Are they?" He took a long pull on his cigarette. "I detected two demonic signatures and followed one of them... I am guessing that it's you, you little cunt."

I felt heat in my face and glared at his insult. "I'm not your enemy Constantine, and I'm not full demon either."

"A half? Your signature is far stronger than any half I've encountered before kid. That other one, that one was definitely a half... but you're stronger than that." Constantine studied my face. "Aren't you?"

"I am half-demon, it's just my father is much more powerful than your average demon Constantine." I answered coldly. "Are you going to throw holy water now? Shoot me with a bolt of alchemical silver perhaps?"

"Dude... all this magic crap is getting annoying." Wally snapped from where he sat. "Who is this guy Raven?"

"Raven..." Constantine stared at me for a long moment. "So that's your name?"

"Yes it is..." I growled. "Do not press me Constantine, I'm having trouble enough keeping my emotions in line as it is... your taunting will only make it worse."

"I don't give a fuck about your emotions, demon... If you really are a half then you're still a danger to this world." Constantine stated. "Now..."

I'd had enough, so I closed my eyes and focused, focused on the buried feelings of loneliness and despair I'd been gathering since waking in this world, and then I projected them onto Constantine's mind. His eyes went wide as I saw him freeze. The sheer strength of my emotional pain seemed to overwhelm him.

"I am this world's only hope to avert Armageddon, Constantine. It is the other signature you should have concerned yourself with." I stated flatly.

Constantine's cigarette tumbled from his mouth as he stared at me. "You... Fuck, what did you do to me?"

"Just gave you a taste of what I'm feeling every waking moment on this world." I snapped at him and pushed past him. "Wally, come on... I've had enough of this."

"Okay..." Wally muttered as he scrambled after me.

Constantine stumbled after me, anger in his eyes. "Stop bitch!"

I slowly turned toward Constantine. "I am not your enemy..."

Magical energy crackled from his hands and he let loose with a spell that sputtered uselessly against my shield. "Do not test me Constantine." I growled. "Is holy water next? It burns a little but not too bad..."

"You really are a half-demon." Constantine stated flatly. "But your power..."

"Is greater than you expected from a half-demon... you may be the greatest detective of the occult on this world Constantine, but you need to know how to tell when someone tells you the truth," I stated before spinning and heading out the door.

"Sorry about the mess," Wally said before setting a small wad of cash on the table and scurrying after me.

"Damn." Constantine muttered as the door banged shut. "Bloody fucking witch."

I should have known getting away from him wouldn't be that easy. No sooner had I turned and began to walk down the sidewalk when Constantine appeared again, stepping from the alleyway ahead of me. Wally stumbled to a stop beside me as he saw him and swore quietly. "So... this guy uses magic too then?"

"Yes." I said bluntly and glared at Constantine. "What do you want from me?"

"Me? I'm not even there." Then his image faded into smoke and I heard the cuff of his boots behind me. I spun and glared at him as he took a long pull on the cigarette. He scowled at me for a moment. "You've attracted my attention. God only knows who else knows of your presence."

"I can handle myself." I snapped. "Even if I was full demon: you know not all demons are evil... or you wouldn't have helped Chantinelle. You have no right to talk to me about demonic tendencies considering what runs within your own blood!"

"Who the fuck, are you?" Constantine snapped and strode toward me, his eyes glinting malevolently.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "I am Rachel Roth."

He stopped and stared into my eyes. I could feel the weak touch of his magical aura probing my defenses. "And who the bloody fuck is that?"

"I am the daughter of one of Satan's princes and the only thing keeping him from turning this realm into ashes." I snapped back.

"Bollocks, that's mighty big claims from a cunt like you." He growled. "I don't like your tone."

"That feeling is mutual." I stated flatly.

"My... my... my..." A cool voice called out from the rooftops. I glared up at the red clad figure. Apparently, I hadn't beaten her down enough, or she was quite good at regenerative magic. "Is this a lover's spat?"

I choked and Constantine glared up at the figure in red. "The second demon then?"

"Oh no... Just another half," Phoenix grinned and I saw sharp razor like teeth in her mouth. A second set of eyes opened behind the cowl of her hood and the four glowing eyes locked upon me. "You're allying yourself with a wreck like him Raven?"

"Wreck?" Constantine growled. "You underestimate me at your risk, demon spawn."

"Perhaps you should go crawling back to that band of insects you've made friends with..." Phoenix answered coolly and kicked her legs. She sat at the edge of the roof dangling them over the edge like some child.

I rolled my eyes. "I beat you by myself, or is this an attempt at a rematch?"

The glowing eyes glared down at me and I stared straight back into them. "Oh, is that so?" Flames crackled along her cloak and I heard Wally swallow involuntarily. "This realm is my play-pen, not yours!"

I rolled my eyes. "Is it? No wonder you seem like such a child."

Phoenix snarled and leapt from her perch, her cloak stretching out into a flaming set of wings. I stepped back as Constantine did a series of arcane gestures with his hands. Before he could begin speaking an incantation, I reached out with my dark energy and grabbed hold of Phoenix. Then I slammed her downward onto the ground. The flaming bird bounced off the concrete and groaned before sliding to Constantine's feet. John stared at her for a moment then smiled.

A circle surrounded Phoenix and glowed with a dull red light as I heard him begin to chant quietly in Latin. Then with a boom, a blast of red flames tore from Phoenix and tossed Constantine against the wall. I held my hood down at the blast of wind from the burst of magic and glared at Phoenix as she slowly stood in the middle of the street. "So..."

"A mortal magician is no match for me..." Phoenix snarled as her red cape billowed around her. Arcane runes burst to life along her arms as she spread her arms wide. "Nor are you!"

My eyes went wide as a blast of brilliant red flames shot from her eyes and hurled me back as I struggled to keep it from hitting me with a shield. The bricks shattered as I hit the side of the building and I felt pain run along the whole of my back from the impact.

I toppled forward as the street went dark.

"Raven? Wake up!" A voice shouted in my ear and I snapped my eyes open. Wally was crouched beside me, pulling me up from the sidewalk.

"I'm not so easily beaten, you bloody demonic whore!" Constantine shouted from where he stood surrounded in an occult shield. Phoenix hovered over him, her wings burning the air as her demonic gaze locked on the man that stood between her and her prey: me.

"Wally..." I wheezed after a moment before pushing his steadying hands away. I stood before Phoenix and snarled. "Leave me alone!"

"Oooh... is the little wayward demon child mad?" Phoenix's expression morphed into one of amusement. "Perhaps she should try working on her meditation techniques..."

"You won't like me when I'm angry." I stated as I felt my rage beating against my restraints begging to be let loose. I gritted my teeth, "Azarath... metrion... zinthos!"

The restraints on my emotions snapped tighter as I hurled a column of dark energy straight at Phoenix. She shrieked in surprise before slamming against the side of a building. Constantine's gaze flicked to me for a moment before staring at the dust cloud she left behind.

"Raven! You will be the portal once more, I swear it!" Four glowing eyes peered out from the smoke and I stared into them, fury gripping my psyche. Then with a blast of fiery magic, she was gone, out of sight.

Constantine slowly relaxed and tossed aside another cigarette. "Bloody cunt..."

I stood silent for a long moment as Wally glanced between the two of us.

"Really starting to reassess my whole view on magic now," he sighed. "So... how'd she find you Raven?"

"Her demonic aura is easy enough to track if you have the skills, even a cunt like that could sniff it out." Constantine stated before lighting another cigarette.

"You know those things will kill you." I said flatly.

"I doubt they'll kill me before one like you does the job." Constantine chuckled. "Bloody hell... the auras you two give off, it's almost as painful."

I swallowed and reached for my forehead and froze. It wasn't there, the chakra... the single piece of jewelry I'd had since my earliest days on Azarath... it had been imbued to hide my aura, to keep me from the sight of heaven and hell, demonic and angelic. I swallowed. "My chakra... it's gone."

"Uh... your what?" Wally asked.

"Chakra, it's a jewel used to center one's mind and energies for meditation," Constantine said coolly. "I take it yours did more, Raven."

I nodded and closed my eyes. "It warded my spiritual presence... I should have realized! When you showed up that it was gone!" I felt my emotions surging for release and heard a glass window overhead shatter.

"Umm..."

"Azarath... metrion... zinthos, Azarath… metrion… zinthos," I chanted and took several deep calming breaths to try to hold onto my control. Slowly I released the negative energy from my emotions but could feel them tugging at the edge of my thoughts trying desperately to express themselves. "I... I need to meditate, soon."

"Obviously," Constantine growled. "Until you have a new chakra that cunt will be hunting you. Where are you staying Rachel?"

"Well... I don't have a place yet and –"

"She's staying with me," Wally cut in at that moment. "At least until she can get a place of her own."

"Let's get her to your place then, and quick," Constantine said. Then he glared at me. "What did she mean about a portal?"

"When... when I was conceived there was a ceremony, my father meant for me to be a portal by which he could conquer the mortal world," I said quietly. "I was forced to open the portal twice before... and my friends managed to stop him and force him back into his demonic realm."

"Who is your father?" Constantine asked.

"Trigon."

"Fuck! Bloody fucking hell!" Constantine shouted. "You said a prince of hell you didn't say it was bloody fucking Satan himself!"

"Do not worry, he can be beaten. He has been beaten. I will not allow those events to come to pass once more." I said flatly. "I am not a threat, not so long as I remain in control of my emotions."

"Intention is the true secret to magic... with the proper intent any cunt with an aptitude can do it." Constantine growled.

"Wally... lead us to your place, okay? I'll explain later," I said quickly.

Another set of bricks shattered as my dark energy lashed out and I swallowed. "I need to meditate, like now... without the chakra I'm not as stable as I once was."

"How bad can it get without it?" Wally asked.

Constantine laughed. "How bad can it get? This girl can cause Armageddon. Do you get it now kid?"

"And to think my uncle told me to get out of the hero business..." Wally muttered under his breath and I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

_Continued in… The Raven #3: Tribulations_


	3. Issue 3 - Tribulations

**The Raven #3: **Tribulations

* * *

I struggled to contain my emotions as Wally led ne up the stairs to his apartment while Constantine watched their movements from the door like some sort of guard or professional bouncer.

Inside I found about what I expected, a pile of dirty laundry flung into a basket by the door, a couple empty pizza boxes on the table and a kitchen sink stuffed full of dishes. A regular bachelor's pad I guess you could call it. Still I was more focused on keeping control of my emotions than noting much about the apartment.

"It's not much... but it's home, for now anyway." Wally said as he walked into the center of the living room and plopped down on the futon. "Two bedrooms, so I guess you'll be taking my spare while you're here... I've sort of been using it as a working library."

"Library?" I asked as I arched an eyebrow his way. "Really?"

"Yeah... I'm doing scientific research you know, I sort of need a library to work... I'll just have to find someplace else to put..."

"Don't bother. My own room was basically a library with a bed... when I had a room of my own anyway." I answered and stepped to the door. "Are you and Constantine going to try and find a new Chakra for me?"

"That's the plan, not that I really understand the whole magic thing... Warding sounds like something from Harry Potter." Wally said with a shrug.

"Just... hurry, the longer I don't have it the more unstable my emotions become. If Phoenix decides to attack me again when I'm unstable... I won't be responsible for my actions." I took a deep breath and opened the door, "This is the room then?"

I glanced around and felt a slight smile slip across my lips. A single circular rug filled the bare wooden floor and book-cases lined the walls. A desk was pushed up against a set of windows looking out over the street and a small cot was against the opposite wall. "Nice... this will be more than sufficient Wally."

"Thanks, I guess... well, I'll be locking the door behind me when we leave. I'll worry about rent and getting you another key later." Wally gave a cheeky salute. "Wonder where the hell in town we'll be able to find something like that... chakra thing." He muttered to himself before closing the door and leaving me alone in the apartment.

I took a deep breath and sat down at the center of the rug in the lotus position. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. "Azarath... metrion... zinthos... Azarath... metrion... zinthos..."

I heard a light bulb burst from the hallway and winced. "Calm down, calm down... what was it that Star used to say? Peace, love, tranquility..." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Perhaps distracting my mind would be of some assistance..."

I glanced up at the bookshelves and saw a number of scientific works. I pursed my lips in irritation and sighed. "Boring, dry, theory... yes that will keep my emotions in check." With a flick of my wrist, a black paperback volume leapt from the shelves and floated over to my hands. I opened it to the first pages and pursed my lips.

"Brian Greene... The Fabric of the Cosmos." I chewed my lip and started to read. The work was dense, but understandable and after a few minutes, I felt myself being drawn into the scientific view of the universe that Greene was attempting to explain: a universe of branes and strings, probability waves and quantum jumps, black holes and multiverse interactions.

It was the last bit that drew my attention and I felt my heart began to speed up as I read the talk of multiverse theory, how events on one universe would be affected by events in another. Still I felt my heart begin to ache as I thought about the whole multiverse idea.

I didn't know why I was here, in this universe. I didn't know how I got there, and I didn't know how to go back, I didn't know if it was even possible to go back to the world that had been my home.

I took a deep breath as a deep wave of melancholy rolled over me. I felt tears in my eyes as my hands began to shake as I turned another page. Finally I shut the book and took a deep breath.

"Having trouble?" A cool voice asked from behind me. I felt fear roll down my spine and I slowly twisted to see the red cloaked figure of Phoenix leaning back on my cot with her hands behind her head.

"What do you want?" I snapped as I turned toward her and the overhead light exploded in a shower of glass. I felt my darker side snarl at the restrictions of my Azarathian upbringing, desperate to escape and ravage the woman that was sitting on the cot looking toward me with a cocky smile.

"What do I want?" She grinned. "Oh perhaps I just enjoy messing with you... or perhaps I wish my father to be elevated in Trigon's domain?"

I glared at her. "Leave me be, Phoenix!"

"Oh, I will... eventually, but for right now I think I'll just drink in the melancholy you're projecting." Phoenix smiled and razor sharp teeth glinted from her mouth before she leaned forward. "It's quite delicious, you see."

"Leave me alone!" I shouted and with a burst of dark energy the demon was tossed against the wall with a yelp.

Phoenix snarled from where she'd fallen after the impact. "You are quite the infuriating bitch, you know?"

"Shut up!" I snapped and Phoenix stood, her pale face glaring at me as her eyes glowed a fiery red.

"You do not intimidate me." Phoenix stated.

"Obviously, your incompetence is only exceeded by your stupidity." I growled at her and reached out with a hand. "Leave me alone!"

"You can't get rid of me that easily... Raven." Phoenix smirked as flames licked her cloak. "I thought the book of Azar would bring about my lord's ascendance... but you, you're worth so much more."

"Leave!" I snapped and clenched my fist, black energy enveloped the demon and she shrieked as she struggled against the sudden bindings.

"You will bring about my lord's ascendance, your father's release... I will torment you until then, until you admit your defeat!" She shrieked. "I will find you!"

"Just get lost." I growled and Phoenix disappeared in a portal of my dark energy.

Then I was alone, again.

A dozen books clattered from the shelf as I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Damn her..." I growled again and sat down.

"Azarath... metrion... zinthos..." I chanted and focused inward, focused on my emotions. With a deep breath, I could feel the room around me beginning to fade away from my vision. Then there was darkness, peace, and I could feel an icy weight clench around my heart.

Stars began to appear, one after another as a dark outcropping of rock floated in the middle of space beneath me. I could feel eyes watching from the depths of the dark abyss.

"It's about time you came..." A familiar gravelly voice called out, my voice. I stared into the darkness for a long moment and turned to an image of myself clad in yellow with a set of circular glasses. She stared down at me in the lotus position. "The... restraints on your emotions are fading with the loss of the chakra... until you regain one or come to terms with your emotions you'll need to meditate."

"I know Knowledge." I muttered to myself.

"Raven!" A voice called out and I glanced up in time to see a green clad version of myself drop to the surface of the rock. "Awesome, you're here!"

"Yes Brave..."

"We really kicked Phoenix's butt, can you believe how much of pushover she was when we weren't all... upset."

"But we are upset!" Timid shouted before leaning around Brave's cloak and looking at me. "Everything we know is gone! It's terrible! So terrible!"

"Where is happy?" I asked quietly.

"She... she is hiding, in her little abode." Knowledge said.

"Hiding?" I asked.

"Duh, you're not happy at the moment." Brave stated. "In fact..."

"You're angry." A predatory hiss came from behind me and I took a deep breath before glancing over my shoulder at the red clad figure. "You should be."

"Yes... we have lost everything! Our... friends... and... and..." Timid burst into tears and clung to Brave's cloak with all her might before dabbing her eyes with it.

I took a deep breath. "I know... I know... This world sucks, nothing we did happened..."

Timid nodded furiously as Anger gritted her teeth behind me. I could hear her grinding her molars in fury. "I say we blow it up, Phoenix is right... this world can just fuck itself."

"Anger!" I snapped.

"Where is Garfield? Where is Dick?" Timid said. "Where are my friends?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. "We'll... we'll make new friends."

"They won't be the same." Timid said. "They won't!"

"Wally seems pretty much the same." I said quietly. "Sure we might not have been close, but he's somebody I know and can trust."

"It's not him though." Timid said again and Raven started to consider renaming her Insecure. She certainly didn't have any trouble voicing her opinion to Raven. "We... we..." The quiet girl began to cry again.

"Where is..." I started to say as I felt tears begin to flow down from my eyes.

"She is as heartbroken as you, she is with Happy." Knowledge said quietly. "Wisdom is with them as well."

I sighed. "This isn't getting me anywhere!"

"You are upset." Knowledge stated flatly. "You have every right to be... perhaps you should check upon your new friends. They alone are the ones that can help with the Chakra, and you know John

Constantine is capable of the warding spell you require."

I closed my eyes. "You're right... I'll... I'll check up on them and come back later." I opened my eyes and saw two more personifications standing around me. Rude's face was drawn and sad while the other emotion clad in dark crimson sagged. Her glowing red eyes looked to the ground.

"Who..."

"She is another part of your demonic nature... a part that rarely came out." Knowledge said quietly. "She is Lust."

I coughed and gasped for breath as I glanced around at them suddenly realizing why I was so upset. "Are... are we all hurting?" I asked.

"All but Knowledge and Wisdom, emotionless asses." Rude snapped.

I sighed. "There is nothing we can do to stop that, I miss him... I really do and..."

"It hurts." The emotions stated at once and I nodded.

"No wonder Happy is in hiding." Brave said with a sigh. "And... the white one."

"The white one." I muttered and took a deep breath. "I, I should check up on the others."

"Raven..." Timid stumbled toward me from behind Brave and suddenly hugged me. "Is there hope?"

"I... I don't know." I said quietly before shutting my eyes. "Azarath... metrion... zinthos..."

With a flash I opened my eyes and found myself atop the rug in the middle of the room with a grimace. A glance at the clock showed that almost two hours had passed. "I... I guess I'll see how they're doing."

I stretched out with my senses and caught Wally's manic aura along with John Constantine's dark tinged nature. I focused on them and saw the city flash past as my Soul Self shot out from my body to check up on them.

Then my soul self slowed to a stop beside an occult shop downtown. Wally shook his head as John Constantine pushed his way through the door. "I can't... I really can't believe all this, wards and spells and all this other magic stuff!"

I saw Constantine's eyebrow arch before he shrugged. "Surely there are things that science can't explain, forces that you can't yet identify? Dark Energy for example?"

"Well... yeah, that just means we don't understand it yet." Wally muttered as he followed Constantine into the store and glanced around. "This stuff just looks like a collection of knickknacks, you know that."

Constantine laughed. "I know... unlike most who dabble in the occult I can tell fake from real ones... It's been to my advantage a number of times. Most people have bollocks for brains, it's a good way to swindle idiots."

"You... you swindle people?" Wally asked as he lifted a rather garish piece of jewelry from a shelf and arched an eyebrow at it.

Constantine pulled the jewelry from his hand and dropped it. "That isn't what we want... it has a jinx on it." He smirked at him. "And yes, I do swindle people..." He held out a hand as if introducing himself again. "John Constantine, occult detective and con artist."

"Great... so you really are a fake?" Wally asked.

"Only sometimes, I'd be a bloody fool to not take advantage of idiots and twits." Constantine glanced up as a man clad in a rather worn looking leather jacket stepped from the back. "Ahh... the owner."

"Can I help you?" He asked as he stopped beside the aisle.

"We need a Azarathian Chakra, if you have one." John said.

"Azarathian..." The man pursed his lips. "Rare, very rare... why though? You two don't look like the meditating type."

"It's for a friend... she lost hers and is a bit... upset." Wally said carefully.

"You're not a believer, but you're willing to push it aside for a friend? Interesting." the owner glanced around the room and tapped his jaw. "Come on back... I think I can find something suitable as a replacement at least."

I followed them as the pair entered the rear of the shop and were led down a set of stairs into the basement. A pale woman glanced up from a table where a pistol had been disassembled and studied the pair. She arched an eyebrow at them but shrugged before going back to work cleaning the weapon. I could see a set of runes lining the barrel and slide and arched an eyebrow.

"Jonathan... I guess you have a special request?" She said and Raven stared at the girl again as she began to assemble the pistol again.

"Of course... I wouldn't have asked you to guard it if it wasn't for the thefts of Azarathian items." The owner said before stepping toward a safe and beginning to enter a combination.

Constantine nodded as the door was pulled open and the owner remove a single violet stone. "That looks like what we've been looking for."

Yes... I thought before a fiery bird appeared in the middle of the room. Phoenix smiled at me as she reached for the stone. "I'll take that."

* * *

_Continued in… The Raven #4: Never Say Nevermore_


	4. Issue 4 - Never Say Nevermore

**The Raven #4: **Never Say Nevermore

* * *

You'd think that after fighting among the Teen Titans all those years, all those lifetimes that I'd be used to Wally West's manic energy and speed but the truth is... no one but another speedster is ever really ready for someone that can zip around at over the speed of sound.

How he does that without causing a sonic boom, even I can't begin to gather... maybe I should ask him sometime.

At that moment I thought I'd just lost... I was just my soul-self at that instant, an incorporeal form watching as Phoenix plucked the chakra from the safe and held it before her, grinning in triumph.

Then Wally moved.

In a blink of an eye he hand his own hand wrapped around the chakra and was twisting it from her grip. A scream of fury echoed from the half-demon and flames licked out from her red cloak, as Wally twisted her arm behind her back and forced her to the floor. Constantine stumbled forward, grabbing for the chakra as well.

The pale young woman that had been guarding the safe leveled her pistol at Phoenix while the proprietor pulled a pistol of his own from a back pocket.

"This must be that thief!" the owner said with a snarl.

I swallowed as Wally was suddenly tossed from Phoenix, flaming wings burst from her back and drove him against the wall, the chakra still clutched in his hand.

"That's mine you twirp!" Phoenix snapped as she spun toward Wally and flames crackled to life around her.

I focused, willing my body to join my soul in the back of the room and suddenly appeared in the midst of the room, enveloped in the black aura of dark energy.

Then the young woman with the pistol smirked. "No it's not... you bitch."

The runes along the length of it's barrel flared to life and a boom echoed in the small room as she fired. The bullet struck Phoenix in the side and she shrieked in pain. Blood splattered from the impact and she twisted away, her red eyes glowing with fury.

Then she screamed in anger and disappeared in a burst of flames. I stared at the woman as she turned to face me and lowered the pistol. "You her backup?"

"No..." I murmured as I forced myself to calm my emotions. The dark aura slowly faded around me and I heard only a small tinkling of glass from the storefront, which was pretty good under the circumstances. "I am your buyer..."

Wally moaned from where he'd slid to the floor and slowly looked up at me, his eyes a bit wide with surprise. "Raven?"

"I was monitoring and saw what happened." I said quietly. "The Chakra?"

"Right..." Wally held it up to me and I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it was undamaged. I slowly lowered my hood and knelt before him. "I guess you'll be okay once I put this on?"

I nodded and he slowly slipped it on to dangle just above the bridge of my nose. I felt a flare of energy and gasped as white light enveloped me. A startled cry echoed in the white light and then I felt myself fall on something soft. The smell of flowers overwhelmed my senses.

"Raven?" A familiar voice asked from above and I blinked my eyes open. A bright blue sky was overhead and I squinted for a long moment. Slowly I sat up and stared. I was in the middle of a field of prairie flowers, a bubbling brook just down a worn trail that ran through the middle of the field.

An image of myself clad in a pink cloak stared down at me and I swore. "What... how, why am I here?"

"Raven?" Wally West's voice suddenly asked from beside me. I glanced over and saw him lying in the middle of flowers, a rather confused look on his face. "Where are we?"

I glanced back at the pink clad me and swore. "Nevermore... why are we in my head?"

"Your head?" Wally muttered. "What do you mean?"

The personification giggled. "You're in Raven's mind! Why are you here?"

"Something must have happened when you put that Chakra on." I muttered before standing and staring at the pink clad me. "Happy..."

The pink clad me nodded and smiled, leaving me even more confused. Why was she still so damn perky? No... How was she so damn perky?

"Raven..." Happy giggled. "I am Happy."

As if that explained everything, I thought to myself before standing up and stepping toward the figure. I felt my eyes burn with tears and suddenly had the urge to embrace her.

Happy squeaked in surprise as I hugged her. "Happy... I'm so sorry."

"Raven?" She murmured. "It is not your fault."

I knew that was true, but still I felt responsible. Happy had hid herself from me last time I'd been in Nevermore, off in her 'happy place'. I guess that was where I was. I knew she had to miss him, maybe even more than I did. So much of what felt fun came from him.

Happy blinked in surprise but hugged me back. "Raven..."

"RAVEN!" A strangely familiar sounding voice shouted across the fields and I froze. Happy stepped back and smiled, and then I saw him.

It wasn't possible, but there he was... a green blur streaking toward me across the field of flowers. Suddenly he leapt and tackled me in a hug. A feeling of immense joy and relief burst from my chest as those familiar arms enveloped me. Tears slipped from my eyes as I tightened my grip on him. "Garfield..."

I felt him smile, and felt tears run down my cheeks. Slowly I pushed him back from me and smiled down at the boy. "Garfield? How... why... what are you doing here?"

"Well... umm... the orange one explained it to me, but I forgot." Garfield answered as he scratched the back of his head. "Something about memory personification or..."

My heart stopped. "No..."

He wasn't real, he was a personification of my memories. Suddenly all that relief disappeared and an intense pain tightened around my chest. Garfield stared up at me, suddenly looking fearful. "Rae... Rae?"

"He's... he's not real?" I said as another wave of tears burst free and rolled down my cheeks. "No... No... This is torture Happy!"

"It's not healthy, no." A flat voice spoke and I turned to see Knowledge standing amongst the flowers. "You need to let go."

"No!" Happy snapped. "He's not dead, he's just not here!"

"And you might never get back to him." Knowledge said flatly. "There are an infinite number of dimensions, worlds, and planes... do you really think Raven could search each for Garfield?"

"She could!" Happy answered immediately. "She must!"

"Umm... Raven, could you explain what's going on?" Wally asked quietly.

"Well... umm... it seems you got sucked into my mindscape when you put the Chakra on me." I said quietly. "What you see are personifications of my... emotions, nature, and memories."

"The pink one, you called Happy?" Wally said as he nodded toward the figure. "What about the yellow one with glasses?"

"That's Knowledge... if this is where Happy was hiding, then that means Wisdom and... the White One must be here as well." I said quietly before glancing around the fields.

Wally arched an eyebrow at me for a long moment. "The 'White One'?"

"Her... cloak is white. She rarely appears and almost never speaks." I said quietly. "But... she... she's one of the most important ones here."

"So... No Id, Ego, and Superego for you?" Wally said with a joking tone. "Do you know what she represents, this 'White One'?"

I nodded, it was hard for me to even think of what she meant, as I had denied myself that emotion for so long, but I knew. Her presence with Happy and this... memory of Garfield was all the proof I needed. Even Lust had apparently not been as grief stricken by the events as Happy had been.

As Love must have been, there I said it, I know love. It sucks!

"I can guess the rest I think." Wally said before glancing at Garfield. "He's the one you're missing, isn't he."

I nodded. "It hurts... and she's right. He's not dead, there's nothing to grieve but... we're separated so far, I don't know if he even exists anymore... I don't know what to do. It's not like I even know how to go from dimension to dimension either."

"Dimension hopping is possible... I mean I've heard stories, rumors about an 'Earth-2' and so forth." Wally shrugged. "I have no idea how though."

A slight flicker of hope kindled in my heart at those words. "You think I could go searching for him?"

"Yeah... but, then the question remains as to why you're here in the first place." Wally said quietly. "What do you think Raven?"

"I think... I think I need to find out, one way or another..." I smiled at him. "I guess I'd better figure out how to get you out of here then?"

"That's probably a good place to start." Wally said with a smile. "Are we really inside your head?"

"Yes..." I said carefully.

Wally glanced around for a moment then shrugged. "It's just... so... girly."

I flushed in embarassment at that statement before glaring at the redheaded speedster. "If you have not noticed, I am a girl."

"Yeah... but you're like a goth type, this is just... way to happy for you." Wally said as he gestured around the area.

"This is Happy's 'Special Place' you might say." I answered and sighed. "Most of Nevermore isn't like this."

"Oh... so this is that emotion's realm... I guess that makes sense." Wally said before stepping toward the trail. "How exactly do we get out of this... mindscape?"

"I'm surprised you're not completely freaking out, Wally. This isn't exactly the most, accepting place for your scientific mind, is it?" I said.

"After what's happened, I'm going to have to bend my thinking a bit, won't I?" Wally observed. "So the way out?"

"We just need to follow this trail, eventually it'll lead to the 'Forbidden Door', which is basically the exit." I shrugged at his incredulous expression. "What can I say... my mind isn't exactly the most creative in the Universe."

"So... what about our bodies, I assume they're just waiting for us to get back to them? Right?" Wally asked.

"Actually know... my mind, it sort of acts as a..." I pursed my lips trying to describe it in a way for the scientifically oriented Wally. "...It's like a pocket universe in here... your body is your body, you'll just sort of get chucked out when we go through the door."

"Oh... so I apparently just experienced my first apparent example of universe hopping... great." Wally said. He shook his head as we stepped through a circular ring of rock and suddenly the flowers and peaceful world of Happy's domain were gone, replaced by a post-modern gothic landscape of rocks floating in a void. Wally stumbled to a stop and glanced around, his eyes widening. "Wow... just wow, that's more like it!"

I arched an eyebrow. "I take it this was more what you were expecting from my mind then?"

"Yep." Wally said with a smirk.

"I'm not sure how to take that." I said as a familiar squeak came from a set of rocks before me. A grey cloaked figure rushed out and skidded to a stop, looking up at the two of us. "Oh, great... Hello Timid."

"Raven... you just came from Happy's place, did you see him? I can't believe he's here!" Timid said in her squeaky and rather irritating tone. I swallowed my irritation and nodded to her. Her eyes widened. "He's in there..."

"Timid!" I snapped and the grey clad doppleganger froze. "He's not really there... he's a personification of my memories of him."

"Oh..." Timid swallowed. "I'm sorry... I was just so excited. I wanted to see him, everyone wants to see him."

"I know..." I said quietly and squeezed Timid's shoulder. "But he's not here... all we have are our memories of him."

Timid's eyes glimmered with tears and she suddenly lunged forward, wrapped me in a hug and cried. I felt my own cheeks begin to dampen with tears again and gasped for breath.

"I know... I miss him too. I miss him so much." I said as Timid clutched hold of me.

Beside me Wally sighed and Timid's gaze suddenl leapt over to him, "Wally?"

He nodded and Timid backed away from me. "I'm sorry about Jinx and..."

"Whose Jinx?" Wally asked and Timid's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Timid... this is, this dimension's Wally." I said.

"Oh... perhaps he has not met her yet then." Timid said. "I am sorry, I was thinking of the Kid Flash from another lifetime... he was very fond of Jinx and I made fun of him for it... I really shouldn't have. Love from my friends kept me from going over to Trigon and..."

Wally stared at her and blinked. "Umm... thanks, but you can't really apologize to me... I'm not that Wally."

"I'm sorry! It's just so confusing!" Timid wailed and turned to scamper away. "I'm sorry!"

"Timid, wait!" I said and snatched her hand. "It's okay... you don't know any better."

"I am sorry Raven." She said quietly. "Do you want to see the others?"

"No, I just want to get Wally out of here." I said.

"Oh..." Timid sighed. "Can I come with you to the 'Forbidden Door'?"

"Sure." I said. As we walked Timid glanced nervously at Wally, clearly a bit frightened. A green clad figure stepped into our path and gave the three of us a rather impish grin.

"Hey guys! Whoa... is that Wally? Like which one? This universe's

Wally, that universe's Wally, or... maybe some other universes Wally right?" She laughed at her own rather lame Joke and I sighed.

Sometimes Brave was as bad as Garfield. I actually winced at that thought, it wasn't fair to Garfield in the least. No one could crack jokes as bad as Garfield.

"Hello Brave." I said flatly. "This is... this universe's Wally."

"Oh... so is he still, like, an ultra fast punching, wall shifting, speedster?" Brave asked. "He doesn't look any different."

"Well... I was KF, but Flash wanted me to get a college degree before I could resume being a hero... so I'm sort of semi-retired." Wally said as he rubbed his neck.

"Thats... boring." Brave said before slumping forward.

Suddenly a brilliant red portal of flames burst before us and a familiar flaming figure stepped onto the plane. I froze as I recognized the figure. "No... it's not possible, no one can get inside my mind..."

"Umm?" Wally started.

I closed my eyes and snarled. "By Azar, I will destroy this infuriating little worm! This is my mind!"

The green clad figure of Brave spun to face the new arrival and smirked. "She's like really stupid coming here, how many Ravens will it take to beat one Phoenix?"

Wally set himself preparing for combat as Phoenix's flames sputtered and died. She stared at us, her eyes glowing red with demonic fury. "Oh... so this is what your mind is like Raven? Where's the demonic hordes? Where's the flaming dragons and shadowy creatures that keep children awake at night?"

I glared at her. "Nevermore is my mind, you really don't have any right to comment on how I furnish it."

"Really... but at the moment I'm here, and I figure I might as well fix a few things..." She snapped her fingers and suddenly a dozen flaming demons burst into existence around her. "This might be your domain, but that doesn't mean I can't play with the sandbox a little myself!"

"This is my mind, I have control..." I snarled at her. Behind me I could hear the crowing of hundreds of crows. "Nevermore is mine."

"Nevermore..." She scoffed. "You think anything is truly Nevermore? It's sad just how alike we are Raven... an abandoned and abused mother, a demonic father... Why we might have been sisters almost." She smiled like a predator. "You think every Cult of Blood didn't try to bring Trigon to their domain... didn't try to get him to produce a portal with their Roth?" She snarled. "Trigon couldn't exactly go to them all, now could he... but he saw use in others having a bit of fun with them."

My eyes went wide as she slowly lowered the red hood of her cape and I saw her pale features... I felt my gut twist with a realization as to what she meant. Phoenix... the damned demon who was so intent on turning me back into a portal was my equivalent in this dimension, the native half-demon from the ritual. She was... familiar, and even I could see the echoes of my mother in her face and eyes.

"I've fought half-sisters before." I snarled.

"Obviously..." She said with a demonic glint to her eyes. "But there was no Azarathian priest to scoop up my dear mother... only my father's appearance to whisk me away and train me for his service." She smirked. "I've asked him about you... you know."

"Of course you did." I growled. "You still can't defeat me... I'll end you. You'll haunt me nevermore."

She smirked at me. "Didn't you ever hear Raven... Never say nevermore?"

"What's going on?" A familiar voice called out from behind me and I spun just in time to see Beast Boy scrambling toward me. "Raven?"

A blast of fire suddenly enveloped him, and I screamed. "No!"

* * *

_Continued in… The Raven #5: Damn the Phoenix_


	5. Issue 5 - Damn the Phoenix

_Disclaimer: Teen Titans, Raven, and the DC Universe are the intellectual properties of DC Comics and Cartoon Network.  
_

_Reminder: All my stories are on a monthly update schedule, please see my profile for the the schedule._

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**The Raven #5: **Damn the Phoenix

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"GARFIELD!" Timid's anguished scream echoed in Nevermore as I felt my heart breaking. It wasn't enough that Garfield wasn't there... It wasn't enough that I was stranded in this damned different universe. I was in agony at the sight of him being burned by Phoenix.

I snapped... Every last one of my personifications of emotions snapped as well. It's hard to make a personification of love enraged, or a personification of happiness charge at an enemy filled with murder in her eyes, but Phoenix did it.

I could feel my demonic ancestry snarl in fury, but at the same time recoil from the cause. If her plan had been to get me to snap and force me to open a gate for Trigon in a fit of anger and rage, her strike very nearly succeeded... But, my demonic tendencies abhor companionship and love... Anger and Lust are but emotions that the demonic heritage is most rooted in, but when the source of my anger and hatred is an attack on what I love... My tendencies are enflamed and recoiled at the same moment.

I lost control... but I did not do so as Phoenix hoped. Every one of my emotions charged her, enraged as I hurled myself at her. "Damn you!" I snarled and a black lance of dark energy shot from my hand and nearly skewered the red clad figure before she dove away. The demonic avatars she had created launched themselves at my emotions, snarling as they attacked.

Wally leapt into action, a blur that tackled Garfield's burnt figure and they rolled across the landscape. The flames died almost instantly and Wally stood up looking dazed.

"Azarath!" I shouted and lashed out, sending a solid beam of dark energy toward Phoenix like a battering ram. She conjured a wall of flames that deflected my blow as my emotions tackled her demonic avatars. A burning dragon fell to the ground, broken and beaten by a strike from Brave. A flame demon howled in agony as Anger and Lust struck it, hands curled into a claws.

Timid fought well... timidly. She hurled bolts of Dark Energy and then shrank back, shielding herself with a wave of her hand as flaming bolts came back toward her.

Phoenix snarled. "Unleash your rage Raven! I'd kill him you know... destroy all the memories you have of that green boy! Fulfill the purpose of your conception you whore!"

"I am not a whore." My voice came from behind me and I saw a white clad figure step forward, her face hard. "A whore would not care... a whore would not defend her toy or grieve it's loss!" She rose her hand and white light blazed from her hand.

Phoenix screamed as the solid beam of white light struck her and she shrank back. Smoke rose from where the blast had struck and she stared down at her blackened cloak. "What... no..."

I smiled and lifted my hand, remembering our first fight... the energy I'd chosen to unleash instead of the dark energy... an energy I'd only learned to yield when Trigon rose to oppose us Titans the first time.

An energy powered by that one solitary white figure.

"I am not a whore." I said coolly. "Yahuah tenar Azarath! Azarath!" A white lance of light struck Phoenix and she screamed. Around her the demons of my mind writhed in agony. "Yahuah..." I murmured and Phoenix's glowing red eyes stared up at me, wide eyed.

"How... how can you speak of him?" She screeched. "You are tainted."

"I am... but so are all mortals." I growled. "My soul is not some black hunk of charcoal as yours clearly is."

"Witch!" She snarled and a blast of fire shot toward me. I sputtered futilely against a white shield that Timid conjured. "You are a blackened soul, tainted from birth and born for a singular purpose!"

"I may have a singular purpose... but I am not just some demon." I growled. "The people of Azarath trained me, saved me... my friends gave me even more, love and companionship... something that my mother never could completely give me. They saved my soul..." I lifted my hand again and smirked. "I have no father... a father is kind, loving, compassionate."

"You are Trigon's child!" She roared and a column of flames sprouted from her hands. "It's your destiny, your purpose to end this world!"

"I make my own destiny." I answered coolly as the flames continued to lick the shield futilely. "I love, I live, I grieve... I am no demon, not as you are." I growled at her and felt my emotions flare again. "You are a damned soul, made so by your own choices and the care of your demonic father... I pity you."

"HOW DARE YOU PITY ME!" She screeched.

"I dare." I said. "Yahuah tenar Azarath!"

The solid beam of white energy tore through her flaming assault and I saw her eyes go wide as it struck her dead center, blasting through her shields. With an inhuman scream she burst into white flames and disappeared.

Wally stumbled upright and stared at me, his eyes wide and rather confused looking. "Is it over?"

I stared at where she had burst into flames and swallowed. "I'm not sure..."

The white clad figure bent over Beast Boy's avatar and I watched as the burns and wounds slowly disappeared from his body. He blinked and stared up at her, and smiled.

I felt my heart tighten in my chest and tears began to break free of my eyes. It came back with a flash, all the grief and heartbreak of the day so far. How could I hope to live without him.

"Raven?" Wally asked quietly and I glanced up at him, my eyes filled with tears. "It's okay... let it out, here it won't break anything, will it?"

I felt a slight smile slip across my lips and I hugged myself. Suddenly the grey clad figure of Timid hugged me, her own eyes filled with tears and I saw my emotions encircling us. Slowly I felt my heart tighten even more.

"Raven... I miss him so much!" Timid said and hugged me tightly. Wally stared at her and an understanding smile spread across his face.

"I know..." I said quietly. "We all miss him."

"At least we have our memories of him still." Wisdom said quietly. "He... he was special."

"He is special." I said coolly. "He's not dead, he's just not here."

"You really think... we might, we might be able to go back to him?" Timid asked quietly and I saw the green clad figure of Courage smile hopefully.

"Eventually." I said quietly. "We've already moved from one dimension to another, from one universe to another... what's to stop us from doing it again?"

"What if he moves on?" Timid said worriedly.

"He won't." The white figure said from where she stood with Garfield.

"What if he does!"

"He won't." She said again and I felt my face heat up with a bright blush. "He's always been hung up on you Raven... he wouldn't give you up."

I nodded but didn't say anything, my thoughts drifting back to my time with the Titans and how he'd always hung around me. I smiled at the memories. "Yeah... he won't give me up, and I won't give him up either."

Wally put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "Now... can we get out of your head?"

I laughed, and shook my head. "Thanks Wally..." I said as I nodded to the distant door, the exit to my mindscape. "You... you've been a life saver."

"Hey, I'm a hero... it comes with the territory." He shrugged as we walked to the door.

I smiled and shook my head. Wally was on I hadn't really gotten close to in the other universe's I'd inhabited, but now with him as my only friend... well, it was different. I'm not sure what exactly I was beginning to feel for him, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't romantic love... I'd fought so hard, struggled so often with my own feelings with Garfield, I'm pretty sure I know what that feeling was.

Plus... if Jinx exists in this universe, I think she's got a better claim on him then I do.

No... I felt something though, and it felt rather similar to what I usually felt about Robin. So, no it wasn't romantic love... I've pretty much written off the whole chasing Robin thing as being Trigon's influence...

I shrugged, once I got that chakra on I'd be able to meditate on it... hopefully figure out my own feelings... which after today would be a mess. A real mess.

Wally stopped by the portal and took a deep breath. "So..."

"You just walk though, nothing fancy or anything." I said with a slight smile and he nodded. A moment later he stepped through the swirling portal and I followed him out.

And immediately landed on my but in the middle of the basement. Constantine was staring at me in surprise and then smirked faintly before pulling out a cigarette and lighting up. "So you're back... where's red?"

"I think I destroyed her." I said as I stood up. "She doesn't much appreciate Yahuah magic."

Constantine stared at me, his eyes widening. "Truly? You can wield it?"

"What, it's magic?" Wally said as he rubbed his head.

"You don't understand lad, Yahuah magic is divine magic, not the profane or demonic sort that I've seen ones like her wield." Constantine said as he lifted up the Chakra. "In order to wield it... one must have a loving soul."

"Wait... profane, like the opposite of sacred?" Wally rubbed his head. "You mean like... God or something?"

I stared at him for a moment then closed my eyes, a slight smile played across my lips. "Let me guess... you're an atheist?"

"Well duh... I didn't believe in magic, and sure I've met some ultra-powerful beings in my time but... that doesn't mean they're Gods or anything." Wally ran a hand through his hair.

"Well... you just witnessed me fight a demon in my mind, using love as a weapon..." I said with a slight smile.

He blinked then snorted. "Great... now I have to rethink that too?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to dealing with that sort of thing... There's like three demons with claims on my soul, so I'm eternally damned." Constantine chuckled at that. "Better live life up then." He dangled the Chakra in front of me and smiled. "Better put this on before something else breaks."

I shook my head and snorted as I took the Chakra and settled it over my head. I felt my emotions being bound and starting to settle almost immediately and smiled faintly. "Thank you..."

"Wait... Yahuah, isn't that the old Jewish name for God." Wally suddenly said.

I stared at him. "Well... sort of. To me, it means love magic... sacred magic... 'life' magic if you will. Where did you hear the name anyway?"

"Uh... I took religions of the world last semester." Wally said with a shrug.

I snorted. "That's great... now, lets pay these people and get going before something else happens." I glanced at the woman with her enhanted pistol and the man who was already closing up the vault.

"I guess you're just a trouble magnet then?" The man, I think his name was Jonathan or something.

"Well, I was attacked by Phoenix in fifteen minutes after getting into town, and he showed up shortly afterwards." I pointed to Constantine who rolled his eyes at us. "So, I would hazard a guess that, yes I am."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed. "Well, I guess you better go then..."

"You owe me big time." Wally said as he pulled out his wallet and pulled out three hundreds. "This is going on your first rent payment."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "So... you want me to pay rent?"

"Of course."

"But I don't have any marketable skills." I said with a huff.

"So find a simple job then... plus it'll be good experience for you, Raven." Constantine said with a laugh. "It's not like you've got any money to get into the whole artifact trading business or anything."

I sighed. "Great..."

"The place I was working is hiring... if you're wiling to do a little mindless work for a paycheck." Wally said with a shrug. "Plus, then we can talk and hang out a bit."

My lips twitched into a small smirk. "I'd like that."

I should have known that it wasn't going to be that fun, but at least I'd be with someone I knew... right? Stupid job… I should have known it'd be something beneath me. Really… beneath me.

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_Continued in... The Raven #6: Teen Domestics_


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